Although Han Yunzhi felt a twinge of regret over her earlier decision, she knew full well that dwelling on it now was utterly pointless.
She tucked the jade disc back into her sleeve, drew a deep breath, and parted her delicate lips. A glistening, perfectly round orb of light drifted out from her mouth.
The orb spun in a lazy circle before her face, then dropped onto the crown of the great bird beneath her, where it embedded itself with unnatural firmness, utterly still.
The woman formed a series of hand seals, her expression grave, and pointed a single finger at the orb. It erupted with blinding radiance, and at the same instant the spirit bird threw back its head and let out a piercing cry. Its wings beat down once, carving a long white streak through the air as it surged forward from a dead stop — its speed now nearly fifty percent greater than before.
But a glance at Han Yunzhi's hands told the story: the seals had not been released, and her face had turned faintly pale. This secret technique was clearly one that consumed a tremendous amount of vital energy.
Still, with death bearing down on her from behind, she could hardly afford to be choosy.
She had barely activated the technique when a peal of thunder rumbled from the rear. Han Yunzhi's features drained of color — the enemy had finally caught up.
Yet this was already the fastest escape art at her disposal. Apart from hastily layering an additional protective barrier over herself, there was nothing more she could do.
After all, the cultivation method she had chosen back when she wanted to make Core Formation easier simply did not possess any great offensive powers.
Two thunderclaps followed in quick succession — one high, one low — and a silver arc of lightning streaked past her side. A figure with a pair of wings spread behind its back materialized roughly ten zhang in front of her.
Green light flickered, obscuring the figure's features. Without a word, the person raised one hand slightly, and several dazzling streaks of cyan brilliance materialized out of thin air.
Han Yunzhi's face went slack with despair. She was about to close her eyes and await death.
"Hm? It's you." The figure glanced at Han Yunzhi's face and let out an involuntary sound of surprise. The next moment, the person flicked one hand, and the green light vanished.
Han Yunzhi was dumbfounded. She was about to focus her gaze and get a better look, but the figure crackled with electricity and thunder, then disappeared from where it stood — gone in an instant.
She stared blankly.
But in that brief pause, the rumble of thunder sounded again, this time directly behind her.
Her heart sank. She tried to whip her head around, but a muffled crack announced the shattering of her barrier, and a thread-thin arc of golden lightning rebounded onto her body.
A wave of numbness crashed through Han Yunzhi from head to toe. She tumbled from the back of the spirit bird, and at the same moment she dimly felt a pair of arms catch her from the front. A man's scent washed over her face. Consumed by shame and fury, she lost consciousness.
Han Li looked down at the woman in his arms, a helpless half-smile on his face.
…
Time passed — she could not say how long — before Han Yunzhi drifted back to awareness. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a clear, cloudless blue sky.
Startled, she bolted upright and found herself on a small, nameless hill.
Nearby, the white great bird lay docilely on the ground, still seemingly unconscious.
Han Yunzhi hurried over to check. Fortunately, the bird had only been placed under the simplest of restrictions, and she released it with ease.
Reassured, she roused the spirit bird, mounted it, and rose high into the air. Turning in every direction, she scanned the surroundings.
The hill was close to the spot where she had been subdued — she had not been moved any significant distance at all.
Judging by the light, not much time had passed either.
For a long while, Han Yunzhi stared blankly into the distance. Then, as if struck by a sudden, terrible thought, she looked down at her clothes and her body with an anxious expression.
Everything was normal. Nothing dreadful had happened to her. Even the storage pouch at her waist and the unusual treasure hidden in her bosom were exactly where she had left them, apparently untouched.
At that, Han Yunzhi truly froze in bewilderment.
The man had not only spared her life — he had not laid a single hand on her. What was going on?
She was thoroughly confused.
Han Yunzhi recalled the startled sound the man had made just before she blacked out, and a look of suspicion crept across her face.
Could it be that the Nascent Soul cultivator actually knew her — or perhaps knew someone she was familiar with? Yet in her memory, aside from a few founding ancestors of Spirit Beast Mountain, she had never met a single Nascent Soul cultivator from any other sect.
Unfortunately, the man's movements had been far too fast for her to make out his features. His build was utterly ordinary, without a single distinguishing characteristic. The only sound he had uttered was that brief, surprised exclamation — impossible to identify anyone from that alone.
Han Yunzhi stood rooted in place, mulling it over for a good while, but arrived at nothing.
Eventually, she slipped a hand into her bosom and produced the emerald-green jade disc.
She formed a one-handed seal, murmured an incantation under her breath, and sent a streak of white spiritual energy into the disc.